Jumpstarter 6 of 10

Direct Answer Bercot argues that a private diary is strong evidence of what someone truly values, because it’s not written to impress others; Washington’s diary reads like a record of weather, travel, and social events with no spiritual life. The transcript does not mention Jesus’ teaching on secrecy, but it does support the idea that private life can expose what is real.

Support from Transcript:

• Bercot says he read “large portions from each of the six volumes” and noticed “complete absence of any reference to God, let alone to Jesus Christ.”
• Even focusing on “entries…for Sundays,” he found “very few references to his even attending church” except during the presidency.
• When Washington did attend, there’s “never a reference…concerning what the sermon was about…music…service…anything else to indicate that he got anything out of it.”
• He states, “throughout all six volumes, I never found a reference about prayer, about God, about any spiritual subject.”
• He argues diaries “carry much more weight than letters and speeches,” since public documents can be “dress[ed]…up,” but diaries are a “personal record of…true inner feelings.”
• He notes even Christmas entries: no mention of “church…birth of Jesus Christ,” and “Doesn’t even mention it’s Christmas.”